Here is a shohin crabapple that suffered a little neglect and needed a revival. The most interesting part of the tree was the base/lower trunk. My purpose was to transform it in a way that takes greater advantage of of those assets.

The first photo shows the tree potted with wire scars and nothing else to commend it.

The trunk angled to the R made it look like a lower case "d" so I really could not see any reason to keep it. The first task was to remove the wire scarred L branch and allow some new shoots to develop.

The 3rd photo is after I removed the existing branches and allowed others to take their place. I experiemeted a little with freeforming of the branches to see how it responed physically and aesthetically.

Im definately not an expert on here but I really like what you've done with this. Sometimes it take a lot of guts to chop a thriving little tree down and start from scratch. That being said, most of my favorite trees have always been the gnarly, twisted, yet somehow natural looking trees. I can see where this is going and I believe when well on its way it will beg the question "wow, how did nature do that??" when looked upon. Great start and best of luck. Keep the progression updated!

Hi mojojava, Thanks loads for the compliments and encouragement. I agree with you, when it comes to inspiration all we have to do is look around. Where I live we have some ancient sycamore and oak; it's those with the huge trunks and contorted limbs that really inspire me. And you're right again when you mention that sometimes you have to take chances with material. I'm really looking forward to seeing the progression and I'll be sure to keep things up-to-date with you guys.

I wonder if we could see it from another side (or sides)? I like the fat base, but the roots seem a bit odd, and if this is the decided-upon front, it seems to want to lean away from the viewer.

_________________Jim Lewis - lewisjk@windstream.net - Western NC - People, when Columbus discovered this country, it was plumb full of nuts and berries. And I'm right here to tell you the berries are just about all gone. Uncle Dave Macon, old-time country musician

Jim, here's an older shot of the side. The third pic in the 1st series is an older one from the back...sorry about the blurred shot. I haven't taken an up-to-date of either yet; it's raining now, but I'll post one when it lets up. And you are right about the appearance of it wanting to "rollback"...it's really not as noticeable as it seems in that third pic. The plan is to balance out that issue since it would better stabilize it all the way around.